outlook keeps deleting or hiding emails from my inbox. I have checked my auto archive setting and they are not set to archive.

Steven Caruso 0 Reputation points
2026-09-10T15:18:49.6233333+00:00

I cannot figure out why outlook is hiding or deleting emails that are over 4 months old. I have checked my auto archive setting and they are off. If I search for an old email from a know sender, it will only show up my sent emails, not the emails sent to me. This only happens on desktop, my laptop saves my emails in my inbox. So it is some setting on my desktop.

Please advise.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Other
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  1. Zahid Barrera Ramirez 105 Reputation points
    2026-09-11T03:53:36.42+00:00

    Hi @Steven Caruso

    Since the older messages are still visible on your laptop, this does not sound like Outlook is actually deleting them from the mailbox.

    The first thing I would check on the desktop is the Cached Exchange Mode sync period.

    In classic Outlook, go to:

    File → Account Settings → Account Settings → select the account → Change

    Then check Download email for the past / Mail to keep offline.

    If it is set to 3 months, 6 months, etc., Outlook only keeps that amount of mail in the local OST file. Older messages remain on the server but may not appear normally in the local Inbox or local search.

    Move the slider to All, complete the wizard, and restart Outlook.

    I would also check for a local Inbox view/filter:

    View → View Settings → Filter

    Make sure there is no date filter or other condition hiding older messages.

    A useful comparison would be to check Outlook on the web. If the older received messages are visible there, that confirms the mailbox data still exists and the issue is local to the desktop Outlook configuration.

    Since AutoArchive is already disabled and the laptop still shows the messages, I would not focus on AutoArchive at this point.

    If changing the sync slider to All does not resolve it, please let us know:

    whether this is classic Outlook or new Outlook

    the account type (Microsoft 365/Exchange, Outlook.com, IMAP, etc.)

    whether the missing messages appear in Outlook on the web

    what the current “Mail to keep offline” setting shows

    If this answer was helpful, please consider marking it as helpful or accepting it as the answer.

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